


Deep in the green lilac park

by pearypie



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 09:24:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15191744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearypie/pseuds/pearypie
Summary: AU: There are numerous reasons why Vincent would choose Elizabeth to become the future Queen's Watchdog but one reason in particular stands above the rest.“Come now Diedrich,” Vincent poured him a glass of bourbon. “Watch over my sons won’t you?”“Not your niece? The future Watchdog of the queen?”“I would never think of insulting my niece by suggesting that she would be incapable of protecting herself.”At those words, a faint smile appeared on Diedrich’s mouth—it was exasperated and warm and heartbreakingly fond. “Capable.” He observed his glass as Vincent stood over him. “Indeed. She is her mother’s daughter.”“Your regard for Frannie is rather remarkable.” Vincent’s eyes—the color of the smoke grey sea—sharpened.For one brief, quiet moment, Diedrich said nothing.And then—“She is a woman of the highest caliber. There is no other.”





	Deep in the green lilac park

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Idonquixote](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idonquixote/gifts).



“And what of your sons?” Diedrich asked, genuinely appalled for a moment.

Vincent gave him a smile. “My sons are capable,” he agreed with a slight nod, “but I’d rather not see what would come of disaster.”

“Disaster?” Diedrich frowned. “What in god’s name—“

“My first born is a leader of men but his frailty is his emotional dependence upon his younger twin. Had I exhibited such behavior as a child, our mother would have found me as useful as a funeral urn and dear Frannie would’ve been made the Phantomhive heir.”

Diedrich considered the notion for a while and then nodded. “And the younger one?”

“My second born possesses a sharp acumen and a mind for business. He is the younger, and thus entitled to that strange luxury Americans have dubbed their inalienable right.”

Diedrich scoffed in derision while reaching over for another sandwich. “Shall you simply give away the Phantomhive holdings? Without your position as Watchdog that queen of yours has no use for you.”

“Never forget her majesty’s daughter is also your crown princess.” Vincent replied with airy wave.

Diedrich scowled.

“Though it must be said, it is awfully sweet of you to worry on my behalf, Diedrich.”

The German glared. “Worry? The only worry I have is for this island nation. With you as England’s protector I’m amazed the country’s still habitable.”

Vincent shrugged. “I was a frightfully cautious man back in the day. My hopes for building a brothel at every rest stop was never petitioned before her majesty.” He sighed regretfully. “Tell me old friend, what do you think?” 

Diedrich’s mouth opened, ready to spew indignation before Vincent chuckled.

“Ah, I forgot. German dogs don’t have opinions do they?”

The glass in Diedrich’s other hand cracked. “And you won’t have a tongue if you keep talking.”

“Dramatic as always.” Vincent uncrossed his legs and stood, hands behind his back. “You’ll give yourself an ulcer if you’re not careful—and your unattractive enough as it is.”

“I would kill you now if you weren’t—“

“If I weren’t what?”

Diedrich crossed his arms with a huff. “Nothing.”

Vincent smiled that strange little half-smile of his—the one that Diedrich could never fully decipher. It was amused and mysterious, always expressing things that simply couldn’t be articulated.

“Come now Diedrich,” Vincent poured him a glass of bourbon. “Watch over my sons won’t you?”

“Not your niece? The future Watchdog of the queen?”

“I would never think of insulting my niece by suggesting that she would be incapable of protecting herself.”

At those words, a faint smile appeared on Diedrich’s mouth—it was exasperated and warm and heartbreakingly fond. “Capable.” He observed his glass as Vincent stood over him. “Indeed. She is her mother’s daughter.”

“Your regard for Frannie is rather remarkable.” Vincent’s eyes—the color of the smoke grey sea—sharpened.

For one brief, quiet moment, Diedrich said nothing.

And then—

“She is a woman of the highest caliber. There is no other.”

“Would you say that to her now?”

The amber firelight gave shadows to the sharp planes of Diedrich’s face, softening the harsh features. A pang of dull and unfamiliar sympathy rang through Vincent. He was not immune to emotion and Diedrich—well, he’d always been the type to feel too much and express too little.

“She wouldn't care to hear it.” His voice was cut glass, tinged with an emotion Vincent heard all too often. 

 _Regret,_ the Watchdog observed, _is_ _a wretched thing indeed._

“You’re being rather self-defeating this evening.” The earl poured himself a drink. “Any particular reason you’re crucifying yourself before me?”

Diedrich bristled. “I’ve done nothing of the sort. _You’re_ the one with the inane questions tonight.”

He shrugged, a causal motion that belied the gravity of the situation. “I asked but you most certainly didn't have to respond.” 

“You could also cease breathing but here you, inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide.”

Vincent chuckled. “Careful old friend, if I were to die in your presence you’d be hauled off to jail in an hour.”

“Ridiculous.” Diedrich placed his untouched glass on the small side table. “After all my years forcibly solving crimes by your side, Scotland Yard is simply inadequate.”

“Such confidence!”

“I would be the finest fugitive.”

“And where would you live?”

“Deutschland, where else?” 

“Ah, a hiding place so obvious no one would think to look. Except that castle of yours is rather ostentatious hm? All those drafty hallways and priceless paintings.” Vincent shook his head in mock indignation. “You—a man with no eye for art, hoarding all those masterpieces to yourself. Horrid shame isn't it?”

“…Which ones do you want to borrow and show off now?" 

“Well I _could_ list a few Holbein’s and Friedrich’s I’d like to get my hands on but I think the better option would be a visit.”

Diedrich let out a long suffering sigh. “You can’t—“

“I’d bring Elizabeth as well.” He added carelessly. “It’d be a shame if she never got a chance to see the home she could have grown up in.”

Diedrich froze.

Vincent’s smile—shrewd as it was—lacked malice this time around. 

“How did you—“

“My niece is also her father’s daughter.” He took a sip of his drink. “That strength and sheer, raw power—many might attribute it to Frannie but we both know my sister’s always had a flair for the French style of combat. Elizabeth is sharp, brute force distilled into strong, swift strokes. Her eyes are more like the trees surrounding Mount Zugspitze than the color of tall English oaks. That,” Vincent reminisced with a fond chuckle, “and my sister needn’t have held onto me in startled relief when she realized her daughter had blonde hair instead of black.” He placed one hand on the astonished officer's shoulder. “I would entrust no one to the position of Watchdog than the child of my sister,” he smiled, “and only friend.”

“Phantomhive—“  

“You might think Frances no longer holds you in high regard but you’ve always been a terrible case Diedrich. That stubborn German streak. You seem to embed yourself in the very fabric of us Phantomhives and refuse to be stitched out.”

The look of sheer and utter surprise, intermingled with rushed hope and undeniable affection, ruined the blank stoicism of the German army officer’s face. “I’m…I apologize.” He gave a sharp, stiff nod even as his voice trembled with suppressed emotion. “For dishonoring her.”

“You do realize you can call Frannie by her name.” Vincent mused. “She might even appreciate it.”

“I can’t.” He said, so softly that it caught Vincent off guard. “I have behaved cruelly towards her and she is under no obligation to welcome me into her home.”

“I didn’t say she’d welcome you into her home. She might even decapitate your head from your shoulders. I simply said you ought to spend a little time with your daughter and call on my sister every once in a while.”

A strangled laugh escaped Diedrich’s throat. It was garbled, indecipherable, and torn between amusement and despair. “I overstayed my welcome long ago.”

“No.”

Diedrich glanced up to see Vincent standing before him, that same teasing half-smile on his lips but now his eyes—those shadowy teal eyes—were ice cold.

“Don’t think you can play the martyr to escape responsibility.” He addressed in a voice that cut into one’s spine, forcefully drawing attention with brute compulsion. “Whatever you've done, you’ll address it. Whatever you feel towards my sister, you’ll tell her. Whatever words you have for my niece, you will say them. For too long I’ve watched this theater show and quite honestly,” Vincent sighed, “I’m just about ready for the curtain call.” He tossed an object to Diedrich, who caught it in one black gloved hand. “Take Elizabeth to Bavaria won’t you? Train her a little, feed her some sweets, do whatever it is fathers are supposed to do with daughters they’ve neglected for nine years.” He smiled. “Oh and I’ll accept thank you cards by mail. _Vincent-you-were-right_ cards are even better.”

Diedrich said nothing for a moment, hand opening to reveal a small pearl-shaped pin with a shining emerald below it.

“Stole that from Frannie’s boudoir. You might want to return it. It’s one of her favorites.”

Diedrich blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then—

“How low, Phantomhive.” He smiled, pocketing the jewel. “Even for a someone like you. Pilfering a woman’s pearls? For shame.”

Vincent shrugged. “It gets my point across a lot clearer than heartfelt speeches. I’ve always found blackmail to be the most effective form of persuasion.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, who was also named Victoria, married German Emperor Frederick III in 1858 and was Crown Princess of the German Empire from 1871 to 1888, when her husband ascended to the throne as emperor and Victoria earned the title Empress Victoria of Germany. (Hence why Vincent finds it hilarious that Diedrich refers to Queen V as Vincent’s queen while conveniently ignoring the fact that Queen V’s daughter is his soon-to-be empress.) 
> 
> A/N: I dedicate this one-shot to dorkshadows who is the undisputed master of crafting AU scenarios and getting me to ship rare pair couples XD


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